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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28875735">Our own little magic</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueberrytoast19/pseuds/blueberrytoast19'>blueberrytoast19</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Idiots in Love, M/M, Magic, Multi, POV Tsukishima Kei, Pining, Polyamory, Witch Akaashi Keiji, Witchcraft, and they were ROOMMATES, bokuakakurotsuki, camping?, nature is gay, tsukishima kei is tired</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:14:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,659</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28875735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueberrytoast19/pseuds/blueberrytoast19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>uMimgonnahavetobrainstormasummarycauseimlost</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Akaashi Keiji/Kuroo Tetsurou, Akaashi Keiji/Tsukishima Kei, Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuto Koutarou/Tsukishima Kei, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Our own little magic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Emily who requested more Bokuakakurotsuki content, happy valentines day! &lt;3</p><p>My first fic !! woooooyeahhh!! there's probably a lot of grammatical errors butyoucanjustignorethat, will add more tags as I go along too! </p><p>
  <a href="https://youtu.be/JuklRMZj7CA">Click here for the song that inspired this fic!</a>
</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tsukishima Kei was currently nursing the most excruciatingly painful ‘stress-headache’ known to mankind.</p><p>He sat, motionless, in his first period Ethics class, uncharacteristically quiet during a heated debate about how Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics could be applied to moral dilemmas. Every raised voice caused a sharp pain in his head and he could feel the irritation bubbling up in his stomach, he gritted his teeth and laid his glasses down on the desk in front of him, bringing his slender fingers up pinch the bridge of his nose.</p><p>One more enthusiastic shout from his fellow classmates and he would sure enough cause a moral dilemma of their own, it was the final week of exam season and Tsukishima’s sanity was wearing thin.</p><p>If you asked any of his friends to describe Tsukishima, they would probably label him a ‘smug asshole’ or a ‘near-two-meter nuisance’. His ability to rile up his friends with his snarky comments is something he unabashedly takes pride in and something they, in turn, appreciate him for nevertheless. However, exam season Tsukishima, was a completely different story.<br/>It’s not that he was expecting to do badly, nor was he in the least bit unprepared, he just had a terrible habit of riling <em>himself</em> up, the immense pressure to do well wearing him down to the point of which he became ten times the asshole he usually was. In reality he had very little to actually worry about but he couldn’t help but let the anxiety-turned-short temperedness eat him up.</p><p>Kuroo had always told him that his<em> “flair for dramatics was even larger than Bokuto’s”</em>. And, well, he was right. Tsukishima had walked around for the past few weeks like he’d been wronged by the universe, wearing an expression that read ‘<em>God has let me live another day and I am about to make it everybody’s problem’.</em></p><p><br/>It was safe to say that his friends, save for two messy-haired individuals, gave him the space he needed during these trying times.</p><p>“Tsukki?”</p><p>A gentle voice from his side piped up, disrupting his internal monologue, “Lesson’s over!”</p><p>Tsukishima blinked, eyes surveying the blurry figures of his classmates, who were busily getting ready to leave the classroom, before reaching for his glasses and turning to face his childhood friend, Yamaguchi. They’d be close since before Tsukishima could remember and throughout high school it was a rare sight to see either of them without the other, so, it was only natural that they’d end up at the same university.</p><p>Yamaguchi had an annoying habit of seeing straight through Tsukishima’s uninterested façade, making it difficult to him to hide much from his perceptive eyes.</p><p>“You’ve been sighing all lesson, What’s up?” Yamaguchi said softly, knowing damn well what kind of reaction an interrogation would bring out of ‘Exam week Tsukishima’, attentive eyes glancing two and from his friend as he carefully packed his books away.</p><p>“Just tired” the taller boy mumbled back, slowly beginning to pack up his own, unopened, books. He didn’t feel like talking much with the throbbing pain growing beneath his temples.</p><p>An unconvinced hum came from his side and Yamaguchi stood, rummaging in his backpack’s front pocket for something. “Here” he said, tossing a pack of painkillers into Tsukishima’s lap, “Go take a nap or something, you look like shit” he flashed him a grin and with that, he was gone, a faint <em>“Sorry Tsukki!”</em> left in his wake.</p><p>Tsukishima was left wondering if the stress really did show in his appearance, fixing his collar and smoothening down his shirt, or if it was just Yamaguchi’s weird psychic abilities again.</p><p>Either way, it only added to his foul mood. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The bustling corridors almost seemed too much for Tsukishima to face right now, but he pulled his headphones over his ears nevertheless, ready to face the perilous voyage to the library ahead of him.</p><p>His headache was still very much present so he opted to just wearing his headphones to ward off potential conversation starters, that may try to approach him, instead of actually listening to music, silently praying to the God he’d previously been cursing for the painkillers to hurry up and kick in.</p><p>Just then, a series of ‘pings’ rang through his ears, sending a wave of shock through his already scrambled brain. Quickly reaching for his phone in his pocket to turn off the offending noise, he sighed at the sight of a string of messages from the two loudest people he knew.</p><p><strong>Bokuto</strong>: HEY HEY HEY! ( ๑&gt;ᴗ&lt;๑ )</p><p><strong>Bokuto</strong>: TSUKKI!! ☆:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:☆</p><p><strong>Bokuto</strong>: TSUKISHIMA o(*^▽^*)o</p><p>Tsukishima was going to make Kuroo regret showing Bokuto how to use text emojis.</p><p><strong>Kuroo</strong>: dude answer ur phone IT’S URGENT<br/>                                                                                                                                                             <strong> Tsukishima</strong>: What?</p><p><strong>Bokuto</strong>: COME FIND US!!</p><p><strong>Bokuto</strong>: We have important matters to discuss (⌐■_■)</p><p><strong>Kuroo</strong>: in the library where u usually sit :)</p><p><strong>Kuroo</strong>: be there OR BE SQUARE</p><p>Tsukishima rubbed his eyes, head throbbing, it was almost as if he could hear their voices through the screen and his headache was not happy about it.</p><p><em>‘There’s no avoiding it now’</em>, he thought, they’d find him wherever he went. So, after sending a quick text, he continued on his way to the one place that was <em>supposed</em> to be free of his squawking roommates, the library.</p><p><br/><strong>                                                                                                                                                           Tsukishima:</strong> omw</p><p>He pushed his way through the double doors and into the almost silent library, he could hear the rustling of papers and occasional quiet chatter of fellow students, though muffled by his headphones. The quiet atmosphere soothed him a bit, maybe this wouldn’t be too bad, maybe he might be able to distract himself from his dwindling headache and get some extra studying in.</p><p>Then, as if his thoughts had been read, the unmistakable wheeze of Kuroo’s laugh echoed through the library, coming from the direction of Tsukishima’s usual spot and just like that, his hopes of a quiet afternoon were shattered. He strode over to his spot in the corner behind the bookshelves, giving the librarian an apologetic smile on his way past, taking as much time as possible as he wasn’t sure if he had the mental stability for Bokuto and Kuroo’s antics right now.</p><p>Pulling his headphones from his ears, Tsukishima walked down the aisles of books, scanning the titles, like he had any intention of taking out a chemistry textbook, that was Kuroo’s area of expertise. He reached the last bookshelf and turned the corner. The sight he was met with honestly almost made him want to turn around and leave.</p><p>Kuroo was sat nonchalantly on Bokuto’s lap, wearing that obnoxious flame print shirt that Tsukishima <em>just hated</em> (and not because he somehow managed to pull it off, no, that was <em>definitely not the case</em>) a strong arm was curved around his waist and his head leant on Bokuto’s shoulder. The duo had their eyes glued to the phone in Bokuto’s hand, sniggering at whatever they were watching. Their cheeks were tinted pink and they were wearing matching grins. While this certainly wasn’t a rare sight, Tsukishima wasn’t too sure if he could handle the mixture of unidentifiable feelings that brewed in his stomach when he saw them attached to each other like that, in his current state.</p><p>“Do you two have to be constantly touching each other? It’s gross.”</p><p>Bokuto’s head whipped up, grin growing even wider “Tsukki!” he exclaimed excitedly “You came!”</p><p>“Hello to you too” smirked Kuroo, he shifted in Bokuto’s lap and stretched his arms letting out a low groan, at times like these Tsukishima could see why he’s often compared to a cat. “You’re just jealous I’m not sat on <em>your</em> lap” he said with a sigh.</p><p>Tsukishima shrugged his bag off his shoulder and plopped down on the seat opposite them, “I don’t want your bony ass anywhere near me thank you very much” he snapped back, pulling his books and pencil case from his bag. “And I’d really appreciate it if you both kept the noise to a minimum, my head hurts like a bitch” he said in the most intimidating tone he could muster in his weak state, sending a threatening glare in his friend’s direction.</p><p>“Okay, but what about our plan!” Bokuto responded in a whisper-shout, leaning closer over the table towards Tsukishima, “We need to tell you about our plan!”</p><p>“You’ll <em>love</em> it” Kuroo added mimicking Bokuto’s whisper-shout, a smirk formed on his face as if he didn’t quite believe what he was saying. Tsukishima rolled his eyes in response, flicking through the pages of his notebook looking for an empty space.</p><p>“Try me” he mumbled not looking up from his books, he chewed on the end of his pen as he now searched for the right page in his text book, he was going to try his best to study, even though it felt as if the universe was doing everything in its favour to get Tsukishima to just go home and curl up in bed.</p><p>Bokuto sprang back upright out of his bent over position, jolting Kuroo with his sudden movements.</p><p>“OKAY SO” he cried, voice raising substantially from his whisper-shout, eliciting a pained hiss from Tsukishima and a harsh “shhhh!” from the librarian. He was practically vibrating in his seat out of excitement, grip on Kuroo’s waist tightening as if he was about to deliver some life changing statement. He leant back over, after sending a sheepish look in the librarian’s direction, and returned to his loud whispering,</p><p> “We’re going camping!”</p><p>Tsukishima’s pen came to a halt and he raised his head to send the duo a wary look, “who’s we?” he said, although he could guess the answer by the look on their faces.</p><p>“Me, you and Kuroo!” Bokuto replied, flashing him his signature grin.</p><p>“No.” Tsukishima reached for his headphones; he’d heard enough. “No fucking way am I going <em>camping </em>with<em> either of you” </em>he said, harsher than intended<em>. </em></p><p>“C’mon Tsukki hear us out” pleaded Kuroo, poking Tsukishima’s arm from across the table. “Our break starts in a week and you <em>clearly</em> need a holiday” he said pointing to the aggressively chewed pen in Tsukishima’s hand.</p><p>“Absolutely not” and with that, Tsukishima pulled his headphones over his ears to block out his friends whining, focusing his whole attention on coping up his notes. If he was able to make it out of exam season without keeling over due to a stress-induced heart attack, then he was sure as hell not going to submit himself to a trip into the wilderness with the two most stress-inducing <em>people </em>he knew. Living with them wore his heart out enough.</p><p>Ten minutes passed and Tsukishima’s mind started to wander, he could tell Bokuto was sulking without even looking up, he could see his slouched figure in his peripheral vison, arms crossed with Kuroo still perched on his knee, poking his sides in an attempt to cheer him up. His heart clenched a little.</p><p>He imagined himself and his friends huddled round a campfire, roasting marshmallows and telling stories. He imagined Bokuto’s bellowing laugh and Kuroo’s bent over, shaking figure as they stayed up to the early hours laughing and chatting. He imagined them huddled in a tent for warmth, a pile of tangled limbs and blankets, exhausted from their busy day. A smile tugged at his lips.</p><p>He scrunched up his nose and shook his head. He was getting distracted. Pushing his glasses back up with his finger, Tsukishima set about getting back to work. Just as he went to put his pen back to the paper, the whole table shook and there was a loud ‘bang!’, causing Tsukishima to jolt in surprise, as if someone had just hit their knee on the table underneath. He was sure he heard hushed exclamations of ‘<em>cute!!!’</em>. He glanced up towards his friends, pausing his music, and sure enough they were clinging onto each other looking at Tsukishima with ridiculous grins.</p><p>He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, sending them an irritated glare, “What!” eyes flickering between them “What’s your problem?”</p><p>Kuroo cleared his throat and released his hold on Bokuto’s hoodie, “Oh nothing!” he said in his usual teasing manner, “Have you thought about it anymore?” he raised a dark eyebrow at his friend.</p><p>“No…” Tsukishima responded, tone clearly indicating otherwise causing that smug grin to bloom on Kuroo’s face.  Bokuto leant over and grabbed Tsukishima’s hands,</p><p>“Please Tsukki! It’ll be so much fun, I promise!” wide shining eyes locked with Tsukishima’s and <em>just how could he say no to that face.</em></p><p>“I’ll have you know, I have excellent outdoor knowledge” Kuroo stated proudly, holding a hand to his chest, “You won’t even have to do a thing!” he flashed Tsukishima a reassuring grin “C’mon you’ve worked so hard, you deserve a relaxing trip”.</p><p>Tsukishima sighed, looking down at his lap. <em>‘Fuck it’</em>.</p><p> Lifting his head up, he gave the duo a small smile, headache long forgotten, “Just for the record, a holiday with you two would be the furthest thing from relaxing”. Bokuto’s grip on his hands tightened and he let out a quiet screech, “Is that a yes?!”</p><p>“I’ll think about it”.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It’d been a few days since Tsukishima had taken his last exam when they trio set off on their trip, Kuroo was volunteered to drive despite Bokuto offering several times during the upcoming week, it was usually like this, since Tsukishima was yet to pass his test and he and Kuroo did everything in their power to avoid being in a car with Bokuto at the wheel.</p><p>Kuroo’s bright red car was stuffed to the brim with various bags of camping equipment that, Tsukishima, quite frankly did not have the faintest idea of their purpose or why they were necessary to bring on a trip that was only supposed to last two nights, nor why Kuroo even owned all of that in the first place. He sat in the back seat feeling a little cramped, a tent on his left and their other personal belongings on his right, Bokuto’s bag looking significantly emptier than Kuroo’s.</p><p>This morning, he’d awoken to the familiar sound of busy footsteps and muffled chatter in their shitty shared university apartment. The sound of Bokuto’s excited laughter and Kuroo’s low jabbering, much too loud for that time of day, had stirred him awake.</p><p>Tsukishima had imagined, with his sleepy eyes closed, what was happening in the room over from him. Kuroo padding across their joint living room-kitchen, already up and sorting out all their belongings with a checklist in hand, before he’d even thought to sort out his <em>own </em>sleep tousled appearance. He’d imagined Bokuto following him around like a lost puppy, arms full of camping equipment that had been handed to him on their way around their apartment, his own bedhead flattened on his forehead and a loose tank top hanging off his built frame.</p><p>Already feeling that mild sense of impending doom and a small fizzle of excitement settling in his stomach, Tsukishima had decided, in that moment, that he would have to face the trip with heightened levels of scepticism, before surrendering to the wave of sleepiness that settled over him as he’d drifted off to the somewhat comforting sounds of his roommates bickering.</p><p>The realisation that he was being driven to an unknown woodland location whilst the sun had just started to set was kicking in and Tsukishima could not deny the fact that he was slightly dreading their arrival.</p><p>He was promised a relaxing weekend away but he already felt like rolling down his window and making a hasty escape attempt out onto the highway.</p><p>What had made him think this was a good idea? Post-exam delirium?</p><p>
  <em>He didn’t even like camping? </em>
</p><p>They’d planned to set off on the afternoon of the last day of term, after all their classes were done for the day, (Kuroo’s idea) and it was currently 5:00pm of said last day, they were already running behind schedule. He made a mental note of their- well, <em>not his</em>- first miscalculation, whilst reaching for his headphones and accepting his fate.</p><p> He picked a playlist without paying much attention and let his roommates chatter and the wave of exhaustion that had already made itself present, before they’d already reached their destination, lull him into a restless sleep.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“WE’RE HERE!!” hollered Bokuto from the passenger seat, jolting Tsukishima awake, he wasted no time in swinging open his door and hopping out of the car.</p><p>Tsukishima blinked rapidly, patting the seat beside him in search for his glasses which had magically disappeared from his face at the point in their journey which his head had started to loll.</p><p>He sleepily watched Kuroo’s hands as he pulled the car to a quick halt just as Bokuto leapt out the passenger side, muttering under his breath something about how <em>he’d appreciate it if there were no injuries for at least an hour after their arrival</em>, eyes haphazardly trailing up Kuroo’s arm, eventually meeting Kuroo’s own and that oh-so-familiar lazy grin when he turned to face Tsukishima in the back seat.</p><p>“Sleep well?”</p><p>Tsukishima pulled his headphones round his neck, he’d kept the ‘Chill piano beats’ playlist he’d randomly put on at a low enough volume to hear the hum of his friend’s conversation, and gave him a short shake of his head.</p><p>“Not with your driving” he said, despite the smile forming on his face. Kuroo just huffed in response and turned to scan their surroundings.</p><p> “Hey, just be thankful I didn’t let Bokuto drive” he sneered, and the memories Tsukishima tried his best to forget of the first (and the last) time he got into a car with Bokuto came flooding back, causing a sour expression to twist his features.</p><p>Kuroo chuckled at his friend’s reflection in the rear-view mirror. “Speaking of Bo- where’s he gone?” he asked, mild concern settling over his face as he looked around for Bokuto.  </p><p>Tsukishima turned in his seat and spotted Bokuto hovering by a gate, presumably the forest entrance, focused on what looked like a sign with a laminated map pinned onto its surface. Tsukishima quietly rejoiced the fact that it looked like he wouldn’t be heading into the woods completely unaware of his surroundings after all, it’s not that he didn’t trust his friends, he just didn’t fancy the idea of going in completely blind.</p><p>After Kuroo reigned Bokuto back in, the trio set about distributing all their belongings amongst each other and headed towards the gate, their aim was to find a spot and set up camp before nightfall, Kuroo had stated that it shouldn’t be too difficult since this was <em>apparently </em>a very popular camping spot according to an unknown source. However, Tsukishima couldn’t help but notice the distinct lack of <em>other</em> campers, Kuroo’s bright red car sticking out like a sore thumb against the shrubbery and trees behind it, it looked unnatural.</p><p>Once they’d passed the gate it wasn’t long before Bokuto and Kuroo had sped ahead, chasing after each other sticks in hands, proving the point Tsukishima had made the other week when he’d called them ‘man-children’, leaving him in their wake with a fond smile on his face.</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima pulled his scarf tighter around his neck, adjusting the scratchy material to cover his nape. The constant sound of a cold breeze filled his ears and tickled his nose, tousling the bedhead he was currently sporting, like a ruffle of his hair from a close friend. Tsukishima found it soothing.</p><p>He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, angling his head to face the treetops, eyes still closed.</p><p>He just <em>listened</em>.</p><p>He listened to the rustling sounds of small animals scurrying under the ferns, over the layer of brittle sticks and twigs that covered the forest floor. He listened to the gentle gurgle of the stream that ran through the forest, a multitude of fallen leaves floated along the water like a fleet of golden hued and orange-coloured boats. He listened to the creaking of the trees, trapped in an ivy embrace, they towered over him, timeless.</p><p>“Tsukki!”</p><p>He blinked his eyes open, revealing the flourishing canopy above him, the last rays of this evening’s sunlight peaked through the foliage, casting an other-worldly golden luminescence over the forest below, the light glimmered as the breeze passed through, shaking the branches and rustling the leaves. If he listened hard enough, he was sure he could hear a whisper of another world, catch the gentle breathing of the forest.</p><p>“Hey! Hey! TSUKKI!”</p><p>Tsukishima turned to face the direction of the noise, even though he already knew the owner of the voice without looking. Bokuto came bounding over, hands full of fallen leaves, with Kuroo not far in pursuit, they both had reminisces of a leaf fight stuck in their unruly hair and matching wide grins plastered on their faces.</p><p>A familiar feeling bloomed in Tsukishima’s chest, bringing a warmth to the biting chill that was starting to settle. </p><p>Unlike the map had shown, the woods didn’t seem to have much of <em>actual </em>paths or signs to follow, so, after half an hour or so of messing around; which included Bokuto chasing Tsukishima with a worm he had found and Kuroo announcing that his tree climbing skills were above the average person (which ultimately led to disaster), they’d decided that it was time to resume their search for a camping spot, as it was getting darker by the minute.</p><p>“Kuroo?” piped up a nervous looking Bokuto.</p><p>“Wouldn’t it have been a better idea to come-I don’t know- tomorrow morning or something?” he said, inching closer to Tsukishima by the second.</p><p>“You’ve only just realised that now?” Tsukishima scoffed in return.</p><p>“It's for the atmosphere” said Kuroo, turning on his heel to face his friends, “Oikawa said the forest was prettiest at night!”</p><p>“Since when did we start listening to Oikawa??” huffed an exasperated Tsukishima.</p><p>Clearly that answer didn’t satisfy Bokuto either as his grip on Tsukishima’s bicep tightened, (he’d managed to snake his hands round Tsukishima’s arm whilst he was internally panicking upon the discovery that Oikawa was somewhat involved in the planning of this trip).  </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Tsukishima was at his wits end. The trio had been aimlessly wandering for what seemed like hours now. It almost felt as if they had been walking in circles, every tree they passed looked suspiciously familiar, every corner they turned just seemed to take them back to where they were before and he was starting to get irritated at the constant tugging on his sleeve.</p><p>“Bokuto, <em>please </em>let go of me” he sighed, shrugging Bokuto’s hand off his shoulder, it was strangely humid for an October evening, and he did <em>not</em> want to be touched right now.</p><p>There was a faint rustle from the shrubbery behind them and Bokuto only gripped him tighter, attaching himself as close to Tsukishima’s side as physically possible. Now feeling even more annoyed at the whole situation he stalked ahead to catch up with Kuroo, pulling the frightened Bokuto along with him, muttering under his breath about how<em> “neither of them ever listen to him, and if they did then they wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place”</em>.</p><p>Always having a keen ear for Tsukishima’s grumbling, Kuroo came to a halt ahead of them and turned to face his friends.</p><p>“Dude he’s scared!” he said looking slightly unnerved himself. He held out his hand towards Bokuto, “C’mere Bo”, a nervous smile formed at his lips and Tsukishima could tell he was trying his best told hold it together for his friends, it was his idea to set off into the woods at fucking 5pm after all.</p><p><em>“</em>Atmosphere my arse<em>” </em>Tsukishima murmured, mentally promising himself to personally throttle Oikawa if he ever made it out of here alive, and maybe Kuroo too, for blinding trusting the spiel that came out the mouth of that maniac. However, they needed him right now. Bokuto’s strong grip left Tsukishima’s arm as he went to join hands with Kuroo, giving him a quick “thanks bro” before he latched himself onto the taller man’s side.</p><p>Kuroo had been so adamant that Tsukishima was <em>not </em>to be involved in any trip planning, he’d promised he’s <em>‘take care of it’ </em>and that Tsukishima should just ‘<em>enjoy himself for once’. </em></p><p>So, for that reason, Tsukishima had completely given up on trying to find his <em>own</em> way out of this mess. His legs were tired and they had packed way too much stuff, it was starting to hurt his back, he’d lost all hope. If it weren’t for Kuroo’s constant “this way guys!” to keep him going, he’d have surrendered himself to the bog already.  Tsukishima was not made for outdoor activities, but he was promised a fun weekend away with his friends who, despite their dumbassery, always managed to alleviate his stress in their own unique way.</p><p>However, this was very much not fun. In fact, he could feel the headache brewing and Bokuto’s constant screeching whenever there was a slight noise not made by himself, was not helping.</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima’s thoughts were broken by a shout and a consecutive string of curses coming from Kuroo’s direction.</p><p> He had walked into a branch for the third time this evening.</p><p>He stood and watched as Kuroo clawed at his face with his free hand, spluttering and desperately trying to remove the cobwebs decorating his face and hair. Tsukishima might have helped him if he wasn’t currently harbouring a grudge towards the boy for getting them into this mess in the first place. So, instead he leant against the nearest tree and watched the scene unfold in front of him.</p><p>Tsukishima studied Kuroo’s face, a smirk tugging at his lips because, well, it was almost satisfying to see that his friends were as equally stressed by their current situation as he was.</p><p>Still clinging to a very concerned looking Bokuto’s hand, for moral support perhaps, Kuroo ran his hand through his tousled hair, removing the occasional twig and flinging it onto the ground with an exasperated huff. He looked around, muttering under his breath in the way that Tsukishima had only see him do when he was five hours deep into his last-minute cramming sessions before his important exams, sanity clearly wearing thin.</p><p>His eyes darted around the forest, glaring down the trees as if to say, <em>hit me one more god damn time. </em></p><p>A dissimilarly wide-eyed Bokuto scratched the back of his head glancing over to Tsukishima clearly wondering if he should offer a word or two of comfort to his rooster-haired friend. He gave his hand a quick squeeze instead.</p><p>Tsukishima took this as time for them to move on, shifting himself from his position beside the tree and striding over to his friends, legs aching slightly.</p><p>“You know” he began, momentarily forgetting he was supposed to be mad at Kuroo and reaching his hand to smooth out the wrinkles Kuroo’s frown had caused on the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“If you hadn’t decided to wear platform boots on a<em> camping trip</em> then you probably wouldn’t have had this issue”</p><p>A soft chuckle left Kuroo’s lips and his tense shoulder’s relaxed as he let out a sigh. Tsukishima’s masked words of comfort seemed to take effect, since he shrugged the strap of his rucksack over further over his shoulder and set off walking again, pulling Bokuto along with him.</p><p>“A man is not a complete without his platform boots” he retorted, throwing a lopsided grin over his shoulder “You should know that by now Tsukki!”, and with a small amused shake of his head, Tsukishima set off walking again.</p><p>Twilight had completely settled over the forest now and still there was no sight of any clearings, their camping lantern and phone torches were their only source of light and Tsukishima couldn’t help but notice how the dim light made the trees look as if they loomed taller over them, almost threateningly. It sent a chill down his spine and he found himself quickening his pace to stick closer to Kuroo’s back.</p><p>They walked for a few minutes more, following the same path that seemed to be leading them nowhere, before Bokuto stopped in his tracks, turning quickly on his feet to point his phone-torch somewhere over Tsukishima’s head.</p><p>“…What are you doing” said Tsukishima, tired.</p><p>Bokuto pointed a wary hand to a branch in the tree closest too them and Tsukishima turned, eyes spotting a blob-like figure that he couldn’t quite make out perched on the branch above them.</p><p>“I swear that owl’s been following us” Bokuto gulped, looking back and forth between his friends for confirmation.</p><p>The only answer Tsukishima could offer was a sigh and a “And here I was thinking you were going to say something useful”, earning him a slap on the shoulder from Kuroo. The taller man pulled Bokuto a little closer by his arm and went to fix his jacket.</p><p>“No, I’m serious!” Bokuto exclaimed, eyes scanning Kuroo’s face, who usually would entertain his exclamations if they were in any other situation than this, the best he could in the dim light of their torches.</p><p>“I think we have bigger problems” Kuroo stated matter-of-factly, patting Bokuto’s shoulder.</p><p>Bokuto sighed, throwing another glance up into the trees, “I just don’t like the way it’s looking at me” he sulked, hunching over slightly, Tsukishima could have sworn he saw his spiked hair deflate a little.</p><p>“Bo…It’s a bird” sighed Kuroo.</p><p>“So, what if it’s been following us” grumbled Tsukishima as he joined his friends in staring up at the owl. “It’d only be useful if we ran out of food”.</p><p>Suddenly, as if it’d understood Tsukishima’s threats to use it as a last resort food source, the owl let out an indignant squawk and launched itself in their direction, causing Bokuto to let out a series of shrieks, stuffing his head into Kuroo’s Torso like he was trying to hide under his jacket, Tsukishima to scramble away from the panic, stumbling and falling onto his backside and Kuroo to wave his arms around, trying to bat away the offending creature whilst making a high pitched sound that rivalled Bokuto’s screeches. All Tsukishima could see was a flurry of limbs and feathers as the trio scrambled to avoid being <em>literally fucking pecked to death</em>, <em>could his day get any worse?</em></p><p>Tsukishima frantically patted the ground in search of his phone, as the commotion had seemed to die down. Kuroo beat him to it, pointing his torch to Bokuto’s curled up figure, he had pushed Bokuto off him in a panic and the shorter man now sat on the forest floor in a state of shock, eyes wider than should be physically possible. Only when Kuroo tilted his torch upwards slightly was when they realised why Bokuto seemed to be frozen with fear.</p><p>“Oh god” wheezed Kuroo “ohmyfuckinggodBo”</p><p>Tsukishima shakily turned on his torch, illuminating the rather smug looking owl nestled in Bokuto’s extremely dishevelled hair, it looked down, self-satisfied, at Tsukishima and Kuroo as if it had won this battle <em>(it had). </em>Bokuto’s bottom lip quivered and silent tears streamed down his cheeks as he choked out an almost incomprehensible;</p><p>“<em>I-It’s on my fucking head</em>”.</p><p>“Just CALM DOWN” hissed Kuroo from Bokuto’s side, clearly not very calm himself.</p><p>“I AM CALM” cried Bokuto, “I PROMISE WE WON’T EAT YOU” he screeched, full on sobbing now.</p><p>Just then, the owl propelled itself off Bokuto’s head, smacking him in the face with its wings in the process, to hover and occasionally fly back and forth above the trio. Tsukishima stared up at in disbelief, he couldn’t process that they were literally being terrorized by an owl.</p><p>“What is it doing?..” he said, shielding his head just in case it decided to make him it’s next victim. He pointed his torch at, waving it in a sad effort to try scare it away but the owl was unrelenting, swooping down towards them and then turning to fly away, again and again.</p><p>“It’s like it wants us to follow it” said Kuroo, a frown settling on his face as he pulled a weak Bokuto up off the forest floor.</p><p>“Don’t be fucking ridiculous” spat Tsukishima, accepting Kuroo’s arm to hoist him up.</p><p>“Just look”, Kuroo pointed at the owl, “It’s clearly waiting for something”</p><p>The owl was still flying back and forth, stopping momentarily to hover and stare at them, looking less threatening than before.</p><p>“We’re not following a goddamn <em>owl,</em> Kuroo.” Sighed Tsukishima, pressing his hand over his eyes, still in shock over the situation they’d found themselves in. He mentally reminded himself to never leave his roommates in charge of <em>anything ever again. </em></p><p>“Do you have any other idea’s <em>Tsukishima?!”</em> whispered Bokuto frantically from Kuroo’s side, eyes trained on his attacker, “because we’ve been walking for hours and the only thing we’ve seen are <em>fucking trees, </em>it’s like we’ve been going in circles the whole time<em>”. </em></p><p>Tsukishima huffed in response, holding back a sarcastic <em>‘maybe that’s because we are in a forest, Bokuto.” </em></p><p>“No, I don’t, but that has to be the worst idea you’ve had so far” he sighed, shaking his head.</p><p>Kuroo ignored his complaints, pulling Bokuto along with him and cautiously walked towards the owl. In turn, the creature made an almost pleased sound and turned to fly ahead of them.</p><p>“See!” cried Kuroo, turning to grab Tsukishima’s wrist, “It wants us to follow it!”. Tsukishima let himself be dragged along by his wrist, grumbling about how stupid this was because <em>‘did no one else think this is literal fucking insanity?</em>  Quite frankly he’d had enough, he was prepared to accept his fate even if that meant being led to his death by a demonic owl.</p><p>Much to his surprise, after reluctantly following the creature for a while through the trees and off the path they were previously on, they finally came across a clearing in the woods. The bird settled on a branch above them, emitting that smug energy again that made Tsukishima want to pick up the nearest rock and launch it in the bird's direction</p><p>Tsukishima felt his knees go weak, this had to be a dream. Had a literal owl really led them to safety after they’d be wandering for what seemed like hours? There’s no way. <em>He must have passed out when they got attacked by a fucking bird.</em> That’s right, he must be passed out on the floor in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night, he’s dreaming. He let out a shaky sigh, they’d been walking for so long that the moonlight had begun to peak through the treetops. He was just about ready to collapse on the forest floor and leave his friends in charge of putting up their tent when Kuroo interrupted his thoughts.</p><p>“Uh…guys” he said, pointing somewhere in front of where he was stood. Tsukishima turned and <em>oh god, </em></p><p>
  <em>how did he not notice that? </em>
</p><p>In front of them was a small but neat cottage, surrounded by trees, as if it was trying to hide. Through the darkness he could see the misshapen roof and the antique grey stones, partially covered by ivy, that made up the walls. He noticed the odd shaped windows, the shutters were not drawn but there was also no sign of life behind them, the only light which could be seen was that reflected from the moon. If he squinted hard enough, he could make out the slight coloured tint of the windows and their seemingly intricate patterns. The sight was peculiarly captivating, it looked both cosy and abandoned, the many hanging baskets and window boxes that donned the building were filled with withered plants and flowers, Tsukishima could make out the wilting familiar figure of daisies, buttercups and forget-me-nots, (they’d once tried to grow some but they were all useless at looking after plants). Similarly, the arch which stood at the foot of the garden, embowed with ivy, had the reminisce of what looked like roses, the contrasting abundance of green making the dying flowers stand out. The air was quiet, all three of them stood in awe, held by the building’s eerie charm.</p><p>“We’re saved!” whispered Bokuto, bringing Kuroo into what looked like a bone-crushing hug. “Someone must live here! They’ll be able to tell us how to get back out!” he said, letting out a little sob, <em>was he crying again? </em></p><p>Tsukishima walked towards the porch, examining the tall wooden door, a silver owl shaped knocker shone in the moonlight.</p><p>“It doesn’t look like anyone’s in” he said, trying to peer through the windows, “and even if they were, I don’t think they’d appreciate us knocking on their door at this time of night” he mumbled, turning his phone round in his hand to check the time- <em>oh great. His phone was dead. </em></p><p>“It <em>is</em> getting kinda cold now…” Bokuto pointed out, “maybe it’s just a holiday home, we could just…” his voice trailed off but he was understood.</p><p>“Bo, <em>we can’t just break into someone’s house!?” </em>hissed Kuroo.</p><p>“They’d never know!” retorted Bokuto, apparently already having decided that no one was in. “Besides I don’t want to be out in the dark any longer, <em>we’ve already been attacked once! </em>And quite honestly, I’m <em>scared Kuroo!”</em></p><p>His friends squabbling grew louder as Tsukishima slipped into his thoughts, hands coming up to cover his tired eyes, he couldn’t even block out their noise like he usually would since his phone had died. He honestly felt as if God had abandoned them at the woodland’s car park, everything that could have possibly gone wrong, had gone wrong and now his friends were considering committing breaking and entering.  </p><p>He felt like he was losing it, like the world was caving in on him, he wished he’d really been pecked to death by that owl<em>. (When recollecting this moment, he’d realise Kuroo was right about his flair for dramatics). </em>He crouched down where he was standing, head in his hands, the argument happening behind him growing louder by the second. There was no way he wanted to sleep outside tonight after everything that had happened, and it did look like no one had been home for months… His legs felt close to giving out, not used to amount of walking they’d done, as he racked his brain for ethical theories that would justify their imminent criminal behaviour. Surely it could be justified, right? They were cold, scared and lost right?? What would ARISTOTLE THINK?? WHAT WAS THE MOST LOVING THING TO DO??</p><p>His crisis was interrupted when a light behind the cottage door turned on, brightness seeping through the cracks under the door and the surrounding windows, causing his erratic rocking to come to an abrupt pause.</p><p>The door swung open, silencing the argument that was happening behind him. Tsukishima didn’t even dare look up.</p><p>He was mortified. They’d caught him red-handed having a meltdown whilst his friends loudly plotted to break into their house behind him. Still not lifting his head, a pair of slipper-covered feet shuffled into his peripheral vision, what Tsukishima could make out of their figure was illuminated by the warm lighting. ‘<em>We’re going to get fucking arrested’</em> he thought.</p><p>“<em>Holy shit dude…” </em>a voice that sounded suspiciously like Bokuto breathed out, causing Tsukishima to glace up from his crouched position.</p><p>The sight he was met with almost knocked the air out of him completely.</p><p>A long sage green coloured robe hung loosely off their slender frame, matching the colour of their slippers. The cosy lighting irradiated the mop of soft curls atop their head, crowning it as if they had a halo. Their face was slightly puffy like they had just woken up, sleepy eyes squinted and their thick eyebrows were shaped into a quizzical frown. Tsukishima was stunned. <em>They were ethereal. </em></p><p>He snapped out of his trance to utter one word;</p><p>“…God?”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>they! are so! DUMB!</p><p>Promise they'll be more Akaashi next chapter :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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